“Why do you love daffodils so much?” My kids and I find car rides provide the best opportunity to speak of matters both trivial and profound. My middle child comes up with great challenges like: What animal do you think I would be if I weren’t a human? What color would you be…other than purple?…
Category: Parenting
Fighting Potential
I hate the word “potential.” Teachers, adults, mentors, and peers have told me, “You have such potential!” for as long as I can remember. As a child, I proudly wore it as if it were another gold metallic sticker the teachers pasted to our chests on days when we were “really good.” Exceptional. That’s another…
Better Than Happiness
This morning I needed to tackle dirty dishes and cluttered kitchen countertops. After an overindulgence in Christmas music, I chose to return to a favorite podcast instead to fill the silence. In less busy times, I love making podcasts the soundtrack to my work, as long as that work does not demand much mental capacity…
Not Full of Christmas Cheer
My first year working for a large church in Arlington, Virginia, my husband and I ate Christmas lunch off the rollers at a 7-Eleven. Tradition dictated that the newest priest on staff lead the Christmas morning service and I had started working at the church that November. My first Christmas celebrated outside of my home…
#NotThatMom
“Do you have the right shapewear for this one?” “Oh! I’ve always loved Spanx but did you hear about Skims by Kim Kardashian? I just bought my first body suit from her and I love it! You should try it.” “Honey, if you choose this one, we’ll have to find a new pushup bra for…
For the Sport of It
Yonder is the great and wide sea with its living things too many to number, creatures both small and great. There move the ships, and there is that Leviathan, which you have made for the sport of it. – Psalm 104:26-27 1979 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer Translation How many times when my kids asked…
Facing Down Flying Fears
I sit on a plane for the first time in 17 years. I last flew to my brother’s second wedding on Sea Island, GA. We lived in Arlington, VA at the time where I served a large church as their Associate Rector for Youth and Young Adults. Within a year, my boss added “Families with…
All Will Be Well…And Hell.
During the COVID quarantine, my friend and I read some of Julian of Norwich’s work. My friend had heard the saying, “All shall be well,” but was unaware of its origins. I was more than happy to introduce her to St. Julian, which felt especially fitting during lockdown. Julian of Norwich’s most often quoted text…
Discovering Answers Because of my Kids
In a fit of anger, my son throws his gaming headset on the floor and shatters the plastic connecting the headphones to the bridge that crosses the top of his head. They are irreparable and unusable. He comes in my room, sobbing, telling me they are destroyed then saying what an idiot he is and…
Wild and Unbusied
I had forgotten what it was to not be busy. This afternoon I wandered around town with my children and it hit me hard: Icouldn’t remember another time when we didn’t have too many plans to rush offto. One by one I collected all three from school and once the oldest hopped in the car,…
Prayerful Kitchen 